Dial construction for circular ribtype knitting machines



Dec. 1953 s. MISHCON ETAL 2,661,613

DIAL CONSTRUCTION FOR CIRCULAR RIB- -TYPE KNITTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 31, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TORS SAMUEL M/SHCO/V HARRY AGUL/VEK A TTOR/VEY Dec. 8, 1953 s. msHcou ETAL DIAL CONSTRUCTION FOR CIRCULAR RIB-TYPE KNITTING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec.

FIG. 7

INVENTORS SAMUEL M/SHGO/V HARRY AGULIVEK ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 8, i953 T i it l DIAL CONSTRUCTKON FOR CIRCULAR RIB- TYPE KNITTING MACHINES Application December 31, 1952, Serial No. 328,378

This invention relates to circular rib-type knitting machines, more particularly to a novel dial construction for such machines.

In rib-type knitting machines of the above category, there are two sets of needles reciprocatingly actuated in coacting relation by properly timed cam means, one set of needles being set within vertical slots in a cylinder having a vertical axis, and the other set of needles being set within horizontal slots in a disc-like dial set directly above the cylinder, the latter needles being operatively movable radially with respect to the dial and cylinder. This invention is particularly concerned with the slotted structure of the dial member, it being within our contemplation to provide a novel construction not having the known shortcomings of the conventional slotted dial structures.

A common form of dial used in rib-type niachines is the solid dial in which there are a plurality of radially extending milled needlereceiving slots. This type of dial has serious limitations in View of its inadaptability for use with fine-gage machines, inasmuch as the necessarily thin-walled dial construction of such ma chines does not readily and practically lend itself to milling operations. Furthermore, should there be a breakage of one of the slot walls, due to excessive cam pressure exerted on the needle butts,

the dial becomes irreparably damaged and must be replaced with a new one.

Accordingly, where such fine-gage construction is required, it has heretofore been the preferred practice to employ steel inserts to form the thin walls constituting the slots. The conventional method of employing such thin inserts rewith great precision, and is accordingly timeconsuming and costly. Whenever one of these inserts breaks due to faulty camming, excessive cam pressure or other reasons, the replaced insert must go through this precision grinding process so as to give the slots which flank the new insert absolutely parallel Walls.

It is primarily within the contemplation of our Since the opposing walls constituting the 10 Claims. (Cl. 66-115) invention to provide an improved dial construction with novel and improved inserts, whereby readily mass-produced inserts of comparatively low cost may be employed in a circular dial, to provide needle-receiving slots having parallel walls. And in this aspect of our invention it is a further object to provide inserts which may be produced by simple and conventional stamping methods, without the use of precision machining and grinding, 'as is necessary with the conventional inserts above-mentioned.

It is also an object of our invention to present a dial construction employing the novel inserts of the type above-mentioned providing adequate support for the needles during their operative movements, whereby the needles are maintained in their proper vertical planes during their horizontal reciprocation, and whereby the entire height of each insert, along the wall thereof receiving the cam-actuated pressure of the needle, serves as a slidable bearing for the entire portion of the needle below the upwardly protruding butt actuated by the cam.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear from the drawings and the description hereinafter given;

In the preferred form of carrying out the said objectives of our invention, we employ a plurality of preferably spring-steel thin insert members with base portions adapted to be inserted within suitable radial grooves in the base of the dial, the upper body portions of each insert containing a drawn or pressed-out portion providing a needle-engaging face extending at a slight inclination to the opposite face of the insert. The inclination of the pressed-out face is such that it will be parallel to the opposing face of the next adjacent insert, thereby to form a slot with parallel walls adapted slidably to receive therealong a reciprocating needle. Further details of construction of the inserts together with their cooperative relation to the dial will appear in the description hereinafter given.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical section of I a circular rib-type knitting machine showing the preferred form of'our invention, needles being shown in dot-dash lines on both the cylinder and dial members.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the dial member of Figure 1, with the needles omitted.

Figure 3 is a perspective view, somewhat enlarged, of the dial insert according to the preferred form of our invention.

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the insert of Figure 3.

Figure is a section of Figure 4 taken along line 5-5.

Figure 6 is a section of Figure 4 taken along line 5.

Figure '7 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary to view of a portion of Figure 2, showing a cam coactively positioned with respect to the dial, and showing differently positioned needles in operative engagement with the cam.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary section of Figure '7 taken substantially along line 8-8.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary plan View of the dial member, substantially like Figure 7, but further enlarged and without the cam and needles, and

Figure 10 is a section of Figure 8 taken substantially along line lll-IU.

In the form of our invention as illustrated, the cylinder assembly 59, comprising cylinder body H and cylinder top comb I2, is disposed in the usual upright position and revolvable about axis 1 3 (Figure 2) Positioned above the cylinder, and

disposed in a horizontal plane, is dial member 14, also revolvable about said axis 13.

Disposed within vertical slotted portions 5 at the outer periphery of the cylinder reciprocatable needles, such as the illustrated needle i6, these being actuated by conventional.

cam means not shown, but known to those skilled in the art. Positioned in coactive relation to needles it are the dial needles ll reciprocatingly movable within radial slots (to be later described) in the dial, said dial needles containing convenit are vertically radial grooves on the upper surfaces of dial. member ii are a plurality of radially extending of our invention.

tion 26 and an upper portion 25.

dial inserts 19 which constitute the main feature Each of said inserts l3, preferably made from relatively thin flat stock, consists of a base por- The base portion 20 comprises the inner elongated section 22 and the outer inclined leg 23, the latter being separated from said inner section 22 by the recessed portion 24. The said upper portion 2! contains a pressed-out needle-engaging wall 25 and an upper marginal section 25 substantially in the same plane as section 22 of the base portion 2!), sections 22 and 26 being in the plane of the flat insert stock. The said pressed-out wall 25 starts from a point 21 in the plane of the insert and adjacent the inner recessed edge 39 thereof, the front surface 28 of wall 25 diverging away from said plane to a point 29 adjacent the outer edge 9 of the insert, surface 28 being inclined radially to rear surface 3%) of the dial insert with respect to the central axis l3 of the machine. The said insert members 19 are preferably of spring steel, and are proportioned to fit within radial grooves 3i milled into the raised portion 32 of the dial, the opposing walls 33 and 34 of each of said slots being parallel to each other and spaced apart a distance for accommodating therein the said base portion 20 of an insert V as the outer edge 38 of the said leg. In the preferred arangement, the inner end of each of said insert members [9 contains the semi-circular recess 39 providing upper and lower extensions it and 4!, respectively. When the inserts are in 4 place, the inner ends 35 of the walls 50 flanking and forming the dial slots 3| are flattened or peened over to form flanges or burrs 5| extending into and engaging the said recessed portions 39 of the inserts to lock them in place.

When the slots 3| of the dial are completely filled with the inserts It, the upper portions 25 of adjacent inserts provide grooves for slidably receiving the dial needles 51 therein. As illustrated, the front surfaces 28 of the pressed-out portions 25 of the inserts are angular-1y disposed with respect to the respective rear surfaces 3%; and since all of said slots 3! are radially disposed over the dial, it is apparent that the front surface 28 of each pressed-out portion will be parallel to the rear surface 36 of the next adja cent insert. For example, by referring to Figure 9, it will be seen that front surface 28a of insertl ia is parallel to rear surface of the next adjacent insert I91), and front surface 2% of insert [9b is parallel to the rear surface 3&0 of insert 390. The distance between each front surface 28 and the opposing rear surface 3% of the next adjacent insert is substantially equal to the thickness of each needle, so that dial needles l'ia, ill) and :10 (Figure '7) can be slidably actuacted by cam 28 within slots d3 formed by the opposing surfaces of the pressed-out walls and the next adjacent inserts. The said needles ertend through the peripheral slotted portions 53 in the dial, these being in substantial radial alignment with the corresponding slots 2-3.

By referring to Figure 8 it will be seen that the butt M of needle l'lb extends above the upper edge of the insert it, so that it may be enga: by the cam surface 65 of cam 58, v The shank w ill.

surface 23 of the front pressed-out wall 25, the height of said wall being substantially equal to the height of said shank at, so the said. shank d5 rides along surface during reciprocating action of the needle. As will be noted from Figures 7 and 10,, the 1' surface of each needle is in engagement wi h the front surface 28 of the pressed-out portion. where surfaces 38a of shank t5 and tab of the folds over portion 55 of the needle are in engagement with the rear surface 3% of the insert, so that each needle is maintained in its vertical plane opposing surfaces 23 and 3%. However, the larger rear surface 36 of each insert bears the brunt of the action of the earn it, since the action of said cam, against the insert, is in the direction of arrow A (Figures '7 and 10), whereas the needleactuating direction of the cam surface #15 is the direction of arrow 3 (Figure 7) during the operative rotation of the cylinder in the direction C.

It is thus apparent that by the use of inserts like members i9, no grinding operations whatsoever need be performed as is required with the conventional insert members above referred to. By a simple operation. the substantially flat members it can be stamped out to the required peripheral configuration; and similarly. in either the same or a subsequent equaliy simple operation, the pressed out needle engag wall 25 can be created. The inserts of our invention are thus adapted for mass production, and are therefore considerably cheaper and easier to produce than the conventional type of ground dial inserts.

Once the inclination of needle-engaging surface 28 is determined with respect to rear surface 36, the proper relation between adjacent inserts will be obtained merely upon the operative insertion of these inserts into the radial slots 3|. And it is obvious that any broken or damaged inserts can readily be removed and replaced with new ones.

In the above description, the invention has been disclosed merely by way of example and in preferred manner; but obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or man ner of practicing same, except insofar as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a needle-supporting dial for a circular rib-type knitting machine, a plurality of substantially radially disposed grooves in the face of the dial, and a plurality of inserts operatively supported within said grooves, each of said inserts having a portion pressed out forwardly from the rear wall of the insert to form a front wall inclined relative to said rear wall, said front and rear walls extending in substantially radial directions in relation to said dial, the front wall of each insert being spaced from the rear wall of the next adjacent insert a distance substantially equal to the thickness of a dial needle.

2. In a needle-supporting dial for a circular rib-type knitting machine, a plurality of substantially radially disposed grooves in the face of the dial, and a plurality of inserts operatively supported within said grooves, each of said in serts having a rear and a front needle-engaging surface, said rear surface being disposed in a plane substantially normal to the plane of the dial and extending substantially radially with respect to the dial, said front needle-engaging surface being inclined radially relative to said rear surface and diverging away from said rear surface in the direction of the periphery of the dial, the front needle-engaging surface of each insert being spaced from the rear needle-engaging surface of the next adjacent insert a distance substantially equal to the thickness of a dial needle.

3. In a needle-supporting dial for a circular rib-type knitting machine, the combination according to claim 2, each of the said front needleengaging surfaces extending lengthwise of its insert and being disposed intermediate the upper and lower edges of its said insert.

4. In a needle-supporting dial for a circular rib-type knitting machine, the combination according to claim 2, each of the said front needleengaging surfaces extending lengthwise of its insert and being disposed intermediate the upper and lower edges of its said insert, the height of said front needle-engaging surfaces being substantially equal to the width of the needle shanks measured in a direction normal to the plane of the dial.

5. In a needle-supporting dial for a circular rib-type knitting machine, a plurality of substantially radially disposed grooves in the face of the dial, and a plurality of inserts operatively supported within said grooves, each of said inserts having a portion pressed out farwardly from the rear wall of the insert to form a front wall inclined relative to said rear wall, said front and rear walls extending in substantially radial directions in relation to said dial, the said front walls being positioned above said grooves and being disposed intermediate the upper and lower edges of their respective inserts, said inserts each having an upper marginal section extending above the front pressed-out wall thereof, the said front wall of each insert being spaced from the rear wall of the next adjacent insert a distance for slidably receiving therebetween a dial needle.

In a needle-supporting dial for a circular rib-type knitting machine, a plurality of substantially radially disposed grooves in the face of the dial, and a plurality of inserts operatively supported within said grooves, each of said inserts having a portion pressed out forwardly from the rear wall of the insert to form a front wall inclined relative to said rear wall, said front and rear walls extending in substantially radial directions in relation to said dial, the front wall of each insert being parallel to the rear wall of the next adjacent insert and spaced therefrom a distance substantially equal to the thickness of a dial needle.

'7. In a circular rib-type knitting machine, a dial member disposed in a substantially horizontal plane, a plurality of substantially radially disposed grooves in the face of the member, a plurality of inserts operatively supported within said grooves, each of said inserts having a portion pressed out forwardly from the rear wall of the insert to form a front wall inclined relative to said rear wall, said front and rear walls extending in substantially radial directions in relation to said dial, and a plurality of needles disposed between said inserts, each needle being in slidable engagement with a front wall and a rear wall of adjacent inserts.

8. In a circular rib-type knitting machine, the combination according to claim 7, said needles each having along a portion thereof a folded-over double shank portion and along another portion a single shank portion, each of said front walls being of a height substantially equal to the width of the said single shank portion measured in a direction normal to the plane of the dial, and each of said rear walls being of a height no less than the height of said folded-over portion.

9. A dial insert member comprising a base portion and an upper portion, said upper portion having an upper marginal section and a forwardly pressed-out needle-engaging wall, said base portion and said marginal section being substantially in one plane, said pressed-out wall extending lengthwise of said insert member and being inclined relative to said plane.

10. In combination with a needle-supporting dial for a circular rib-type knitting machine and having a plurality of radial slots therein, an insert member comprising a base portion and an upper portion, said upper portion having an upper marginal section and a forwardly pressed-out needle-engaging wall, said base portion and said marginal section being substantially in one plane, said pressed-out wall extending lengthwise of said insert memberand being inclined relative to said plane, said base portion being proportioned for insertion in one of said radial slots, said pressedout wall being sloped to extend in a direction substantially radially of the dial.

SAMUEL MISHCON. HARRY AGULNEK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,869,416 Green Aug. 2, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 583,929 Great Britain Jan. 2, 1947 

